OKO JOURNAL

In May of 2023, I joined Oko Farms as a part of a fellowship centered around food systems and food justice through my graduate school program. I have been here for just over one year, and I am so lucky to now be working with the farm as the Market Manager and Crew Lead. I love Oko Farms for a multitude of reasons, but I am most grateful to work alongside and learn from a group of individuals who promote food sovereignty through tireless and dedicated earth stewardship and regenerative agriculture. Just as the land cares for us, Oko Farms cares for the land and serves as a gentle reminder that we, as humans, have a responsibility to live in balance with the earth’s natural systems. 

Over the past year, I’ve experienced the turn of all four seasons on the farm. I have seeded dozens of plants, harvested hundreds of pounds of vegetables and herbs, and witnessed the full life of every crop we grow. Farming has forced me to slow down and take notice of the inherent transitions of a plant’s life stages, and to bear witness to such never fails to excite me and remind me of the cyclical nature that governs most life. 

Garlic is undoubtedly my favorite plant to watch pass through its cycle: it is a part of the farm in every season, and although it serves as a constant in this way, there is nothing static nor uninteresting about it. Last summer, I began my first few weeks by harvesting the scapes and bulbs, hanging the plants in the greenhouse to dry, and observing the bulbs flower to produce bulbils. In the late fall, we planted our garlic cloves, covered the ground, and celebrated the official end to the season. Over the winter and spring, I watched impatiently as the garlic grew to reach the height of my hips. Last month, I taught this season’s interns how to harvest garlic scapes and bulbs, just as I learned how to do exactly one year ago. 

Our market will not only feature garlic bulbs, but also scapes and dried spice blends. I’m most looking forward to making fermented honey garlic, which will be available for purchase later this season!